


And Then She Smiled

by neosaiyanangel



Category: Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magika | Puella Magi Madoka Magica
Genre: Bad Ending, F/F, False Memories, Interpretation of Heaven, Memory Alteration, Witch Barrier
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-22
Updated: 2020-07-22
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:00:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25437316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/neosaiyanangel/pseuds/neosaiyanangel
Summary: Sayaka has a perfectly good day beyond a surprise quiz.
Relationships: Miki Sayaka/Sakura Kyouko
Comments: 4
Kudos: 20
Collections: Multifandom Horror Exchange (2020)





	And Then She Smiled

**Author's Note:**

  * For [HandmaidenOfHorror](https://archiveofourown.org/users/HandmaidenOfHorror/gifts).



“Hey!”

Kyouko looked up from her schoolwork, the apple she was eating hanging from her mouth. Her sister stood at the entrance to her room, practically exploding with excitement.

“What’s up?”

“Your _girl~friend_ is here,” Momo sing-songed, dancing back and forth on her tiptoes.

Kyouko smiled softly. Her little sister was so annoying. But, for some reason, she felt like she’d missed it somehow.

She gave her a cock-eyed grin. “Thanks for lettin’ me know, Momo-ch-”

A flash in her vision - Momo covered in red, the cheeky smile a blank emotionless stare - caught her off-guard.

Kyouko blinked.

Momo was again standing there, teasing her.

Strange. Must’ve been those horror movies she watched last night with Sayaka messing with her head.

“Okay,” Kyouko said, less happy than she was a moment ago. “I’ll be down in a second.”

“I’ll let her know you’re prettying up for her!” Momo cheered before disappearing down the stairs.

Kyouko sat there for a second before limply getting up. There was something, something about that that felt…

She shook her head. Now wasn’t the time to get lost in her imagination. Sayaka was waiting for her!

* * *

Sayaka walked cheerily down the street, Kyouko lazily trailing behind her. It was a bright, sunny day. There weren’t any tests or quizzes planned at school beyond a health check for PE. A bit of a perfect day, really. _Any_ day was perfect when Kyouko was with her.

True, Kyouko was a bit of a nihilist to Sayaka’s optimism. She didn’t really believe in the good of humanity. But under it all, Kyouko did care about the well-being of everyone. She cared about Sayaka in a way that Sayaka had always dreamed of.

...The dreams were a little fuzzy. For some reason, she couldn’t think of anyone she’d crushed on before Kyouko. A frown crossed her face as she tried to think hard on it. As certain as Sayaka was that she’d crushed on someone before she and Kyouko found each other, she was equally blanking on _who_ they were.

She looked around, trying to grasp onto an idea.

There was Julian and Sakura, traipsing down the lane like they owned it. Hitomi was seeming to wait for her, looking in their direction expectantly. Down the road, Kyousuke-

arm bleeding, hopelessly looking at his arm, cradling it desperately

-was checking his instrument over. He loved it like it was his own child.

Sayaka paused.

Wait. What just happened?

She was struck from her thoughts as Kyouko bumped into her. Apparently they both had been in la-la land.

“Oy! What’re you doing?” Kyouko asked, the pocky in her mouth waving with each word.

“Sorry!” Sayaka said, scratching the back of her head. “There was something…”

“‘Something’? What? You realize there’s a test?” Kyouko chuckled. “This is why I dropped out.”

“What in the world do you do with your day?” Sayaka cheekily asked.

Kyouko opened her mouth to answer, then stopped cold. “...I don’t know.”

* * *

Kyouko sat, confused. She was sitting at an outdoor cafe, thinking. There was something wrong. Something she couldn’t pin down. Questions bubbled in her head that lacked answers.

What _did_ she do with her day? Why had she dropped out of school? She was sure that Momo still went to school. So what had changed about her?

Kyouko looked up from her shake to scan the crowd. What was going…?

Something stuck out to her. In the crowd. It seemed like something...dancing? She peered more closely, trying to figure out-

_Heaven exists for all!_

_Praise Her for all Her blessings!_

_Decorate the halls!_

_All the tinsel and dressings!_

Her eyes widened as she remembered-

* * *

Sayaka sighed as she left school. A surprise quiz. How could that happen to her? It didn’t seem like any of her friends were able to figure the quiz out either. Hitomi looked like she had given up by the end. Kyousuke wasn’t even paying attention. It looked like he was scribbling music in the margins of the paper.

Where was Kyouko? She was an upperclassman, but they all got out on time. She should’ve come out with their older friend, Mami.

...When had Mami become their friend? Who even was Mami? And Kyouko...went to their school...?

The air suddenly wavered. A strange feeling, like the air was made of paper, made Sayaka freeze.

Then it tore.

The sky was a strange type of psychedelic pattern of splashed patterns and almost paper cutout-like designs. Sayaka looked around, panicked, trying to figure out what was going on. She balked as she realized that _no one else had noticed_. Everyone around her were walking around as if there was nothing wrong.

Wait. No, that wasn’t entirely true. Mami had seemed to notice. She was looking around, her normal unflappable aura replaced with confusion.

Sayaka rushed over to her.

“Mami! What’s going on?!” Sayaka shouted. It drew the curious stares of those around them, ones that she ignored.

“I...don’t know.” Mami looked around, concerned. “There’s something wrong.”

“Yes! There IS something wrong! _The sky is multicolored like a weirdo painting_ !” Sayaka barked. The suffocating feeling hadn’t gone away, putting Sayaka on-edge. She could feel something, a strange weird sense pulling at her mind. What it was, she didn’t know. Sayaka felt she _should_ know…

In the distance a cloud billowed up. The sound of something crashing down, a strangely delicate tinkling noise, echoed from there. Again, no one but Sayaka and Mami seemed to notice.

Sayaka’s brow drooped. She shoved the question on where Kyouko was aside; she had some sneaking feeling that Kyouko was already there. “Let’s check it out!”

Mami frowned. “It could be dangerous.”

The way she said it was more a warning to Sayaka than actually being afraid.

“Let’s go,” Sayaka said more forcefully.

Mami stood silently for a moment before she nodded. “Yes. Let’s go.”

* * *

“Gah!” Kyouko spat out a breath as she ducked out of the way of another familiar. They were scales! Walking scales made of twisted brass and pink ribbons. Kyouko had barely remembered about even _being_ a magical girl in time to avoid the party of familiars marching through the crowd.

She’d transformed once she was safe. The transformation had been...sluggish. Like there was some kind of disconnect between her Soul Gem and her body. It may have had something to do with this particular Witch. There was something odd about this barrier. It seemed to be crafting new lives and memories of everyone.

Kyouko observed some of the people around her. It seemed that she had vanished from their eyesight if the lack of reaction was anything to go by. Were all of these people? Constructs? How much was real around her?

Sayaka...had to be real. So there were at least two real people in here. _When_ had they been trapped? Kyouko’s memory strained, but kept coming up blank.

It had been when she was making her way to the school that saw her spotted. That was when the battle had begun.

The familiars didn’t really seem to do much. The worst they were trying to do was tackle her. They were mostly just circling and dancing mindlessly, as some familiars do. _But they kept singing that horrible song in their language_.

_She will save us all!_

_Her mercy has no end!_

_Heed her call!_

_Else you’ll be dead!_

It almost felt like they were waiting? For what, Kyouko didn’t know. Maybe the Witch?

The people kept walking. Even when they were hit by the familiars or falling debris, bleeding and dying, bones breaking and guts spilling, they existed with smiles and cheer on their face. Mindlessly happy. The gore told Kyouko that they were real people. All of these people…

She took a glance towards the horizon. It didn’t seem to end. How big was this barrier?

...Were all these people from Mitakihara Town?

Kyouko stopped short as she saw Sayaka running towards her from the distance.

A lump formed in Kyouko’s throat as the thought struck her: _were their feelings even real?_

She opened her mouth, then closed it. Flinching and shaking her head, she yelled, “Get out of here!”

“Not without you!” Sayaka snapped back loudly. The familiars turned towards her.

_Crap_!

“ _Run_!” Kyouko took off like a shot to get herself between the familiars and Sayaka.

Everything paused as bells, beautiful and haunting, began ringing loudly from everywhere and nowhere.

_She’s here! She’s here!_

Kyouko spared a glance up to see the sky was converging on them. Like a flowing dress, the entire skyscape closed in around them. Kyouko put in a burst of speed to try and at least get Sayaka out of there.

Their feelings _were real_. They were too deep to be fake.

Sayaka was gaping up at the encroaching Witch, which is likely why she gasped in surprise when Kyouko grabbed her into her arms. Kyouko looked around for an escape, somewhere, _anywhere…_!

...There was only one thing she could do. This Witch was something else. She would have to use her full power to stop her or, at least, save Sayaka. Kyouko looked down at Sayaka. Her girlfriend was giving her a strange look, like she knew what Kyouko was thinking.

“Don’t…” Sayaka said hesitantly, even as she looked above them at the reality crashing down on them.

Kyouko sighed, then gave her a cheeky grin. “You’ll be fine!” She set Sayaka down in what was likely the safest place: under Kyouko. As she pulled her Gem from her lapel, she murmured, “I kinda wish you were a magical girl too. Would’ve been kinda cool to go out in a blaze together.”

A glint appeared in Sayaka’s eyes. Before she could say anything, Kyouko gave her a quick kiss before gathering her power. She rose into the air on her living spear, red lightning crackling around her. Kyouko looked up at the Witch.

“You can’t have her,” Kyouko said simply before she aimed up and fired.

**_No_ **

Everything went white. Kyouko couldn’t see anything anymore. It sounded like a gunshot, then bells…

* * *

Sayaka sighed as she left school. A surprise quiz. How could that happen to her? It didn’t seem like any of her friends were able to figure the quiz out either. Hitomi looked like she had given up by the end. Kyousuke wasn’t even paying attention. It looked like he was scribbling music in the margins of the paper.

A brief flash of red flew through her mind. She looked around, confused. Who…?

No one around her had red hair. It was the normal sea of blond and brunettes with the occasional splash of color like her own hair. Strange. It made a pang of _something_ sound in her chest.

Oh well. She was probably just seeing things.

Sayaka stretched her arms into the air and took a more joyful sigh. Really, besides the quiz things were actually pretty nice! Her parents were actually home lately, and her friends were available. Selfishly, Sayaka hoped these days didn’t end.

It was almost like a slice of heaven.


End file.
